A salute to the graduates

A warm, cordial congratulations to members of all graduating classes 2009 and a hearty felicitation to all the beloved parents and guardians who have sacrificed most of their time and efforts for their children who are graduating today!

Graduation marks an achievement in your pursuit of knowledge, the outcome of your honest work, labor, and determination together with the loving devotion of parents and guardians and the untiring guidance and encouragement of your mentors.

You are aware of the numerous problems besetting our nation today. Be not dismayed, instead, be hopeful and persistent in doing the best you can. Keep on acquiring quality education, continue aspiring for a better life by doing things right.

Are you cognizant of Rick Warren’s tips for a purpose-driven life? I’m citing them here for you – be ready to assume responsibility for your own life; believe you can change for the better; clarify what you really want; and don’t wait for ideal circumstances.

Hope for the future exists within you. Someday you will be the leaders, the workers, the teachers, the parents. You will have the chance to improve this world or to make it worse (God forbid!). No matter what kind of work you do, you will have certain responsibilities as a citizen. You must assume these responsibilities with understanding and wisdom.

Very few of us ever become a powerful statement. Most of us lead very ordinary lives… but don’t ever have the idea that you don’t count or that your neighbor is worthless.

No man is an island. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. Therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Let us then, be reminded of the immortal lines of the Sage in his Desiderata, a message for all times:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

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Dr. Paz Soriano-Garcia was a former teacher of MA Education courses and undergraduate subjects at Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in Agoo, La Union.